


No Man Is An Island

by H0locene



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Gen, Kyalin Solstice Exchange 2020, Lin finds her family again, Mild Hurt/Comfort, post-Linzin breakup, rekindling friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:00:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28219605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/H0locene/pseuds/H0locene
Summary: Avatar Day is always going to leave a bitter taste in her mouth, now.It’s the fourth without Aang. And the first without his family.Her plan is simple. Get through the double shift she’s taking so that those with a family can enjoy the holiday, and then get blackout drunk so that she can put a stop to these wretched thoughts of missing them.Kyalin Discord Winter Solstice Exchange gift.
Relationships: Lin Beifong & Bumi II (mentioned), Lin Beifong & Katara, Lin Beifong & Kya II
Comments: 18
Kudos: 64
Collections: 2020 KyaLin Solstice Exchange





	No Man Is An Island

**Author's Note:**

  * For [meadowlark93](https://archiveofourown.org/users/meadowlark93/gifts).



> For Katullys
> 
> This is not a Solstice fic because I thought this might be a better setting for this fic, but it's a holiday fic nonetheless!
> 
> Prompts were: holiday, family drama
> 
> I hope I did it justice!

Avatar Day is always going to leave a bitter taste in her mouth, now.

It’s the fourth without Aang. And the first without his family.

Her plan is simple. Get through the double shift she’s taking so that those with a family can enjoy the holiday, and then get blackout drunk so that she can put a stop to these wretched thoughts of missing them.

It still stings to think of Tenzin’s betrayal, but that wound is beginning to heal, now. The loss of his family is still very much raw. Katara still writes to her, but she’s not had the heart to open them. The letters pile up on her coffee table at home, staring mockingly at her. She’s not seen Kya or Bumi since Aang’s funeral, and she hates to admit it, but it kind of hurts that they haven’t reached out. It makes complete sense, of course - they’re his siblings, of course they would take his side. Some part of her had hoped that their friendship would’ve meant something.

It’s a part of her that should’ve disappeared with her mother and Suyin.

It’s late, and she’s sat at her desk doing paperwork. No matter how much she gets through, the pile always grows. She’s only been Assistant Chief for seven months, and yet it feels like Chief Huong is already trying to prepare her for his role. Either that, or the man is just lazy and is letting her do his job for him.

There are only a few cops still in the building, and the gentle thrum of electricity through the room fills her ears. It’s tedious work, she thinks as she signs off on an arrest report, but it’s at the very least peaceful.

There’s a knock on the door, and doesn’t look up, bending the metal handle unlatched and swinging the door open.

“Add it to the pile,” she grunts, gesturing to her left as she places the arrest report onto a tower of carefully balanced files for the secretary to house in the morning.

There’s a familiar thump to the heartbeat that sounds out of place in the precinct. A familiar glide of shoes across the floor, and a something that smells suspiciously like seaweed stew. Then, a heavy thunk on her pile of paperwork, and she finally looks up to see a wry smile on Kya’s face.

She’s hardly changed since the last time Lin saw her. There are a few streaks of grey running through her long brown hair, now, but her face still shines with that same youthful exuberance Lin’s come to associate with the waterbender.

“What the flameo are you doing here?”

Kya rolls her eyes, undeterred by Lin’s boorish demeanour.

“Having dinner with an old friend,” she replies smoothly, grabbing the chair from the corner and dragging it to the desk. “Are you gonna move your papers, or do you wanna get mom’s cooking all over them?”

Lin’s about to terseley respond, but Kya’s already pulling food out of the bag, and she hastily gathers up the papers on her desk. It appears they’re doing this.

“Kya, I haven’t got time to-”

“Hush, Linny,” Kya says playfully, setting down some puffin-seal sausages. “Mom made these especially for you, and I’m not letting it go to waste.”

Lin feels a twinge in her chest at Kya’s words. Katara knows they’re her favourite, and she only cooks meat on the Island on special occasions (and when Tenzin isn’t around to see). 

“Don’t be ridiculous,” she scoffs, pushing aside the sparks of hope and sadness coalescing in her stomach. “She must’ve known I wouldn’t be coming.”

The look in the waterbender’s eyes is something akin to pity. Lin hates it.

“The fact that you and Tenzin broke up does not mean you’re not family anymore, Lin,” she says gently. “Mom would’ve come out with me, but she’s tired from the trip and she needed a rest. That and I think she’s feeling a little hurt that you’ve stopped returning her letters.”

Lin looks away at that, having the good grace to feel ashamed. A blush creeps up her cheeks. “I don’t need your family’s pity.”

“It’s  _ our  _ family,” Kya corrects sternly. “And it’s not pity. It’s care; concern. Love.”

The older woman sighs, pulling bowls from her bag and serving some stew. She shoves one under Lin’s nose. “She misses you, Lin.”

Lin doesn’t respond, taking the bowl of stew and beginning to shovel the food into her mouth. It hadn’t hit her until this moment that she’d skipped lunch.

Kya huffs a knowing laugh, and reaches once more into her bag. “Bumi sends his love,” she says, placing a glass bottle on the desk in between them. Lin appraises the label that wraps around the outside, an eyebrow raised.

“Well, actually he says he sends alcohol, because you’re more likely to accept that.”

It’s a bottle of kuusu that’s difficult to find outside the Fire Nation due to the heavy taxes on spirits with high alcoholic content in Republic City. It also happens to be Lin’s favourite drink. Her mouth twists at the sight of it; she’s appreciative, touched, even, that he thought of her, but she’ll be damned if she lets Kya know this.

“He said he’ll drop by tomorrow with the pai sho tiles he’s found since he last saw you,” Kya continues, an exasperated fondness in her tone at her childhood friend’s attempts to stifle her emotions.

Lin’s heart warms at the news. She had grown up playing pai sho with Aang and Bumi, and when he left to join the United Forces, he’d find unique tiles wherever he went and bring them home to her. It’s something she thought she’d lost when she lost Tenzin. She’s got a small collection for him, too, of rare and antique tiles she’s found in shops across the city on her days off. Lin hadn’t thought she’d ever get the chance to give them to him, now.

Kya looks uncharacteristically hesitant before she speaks again. “Tenzin... hopes you’re well.”

Lin pauses, the spoon halfway to her mouth. She scoffs once, and continues eating, but the well-wish sets something uncomfortable alight in her stomach and she finds herself reaching for a glass of water in an attempt to settle it, wishing it was instead the kuusu.

Lieutenant Lao knocks and enters without waiting for permission, a large stack of paperwork in his hands. Lin glares up at him. He has a smirk on his face.

“Finished my paperwork, AC Beifong.”

The smarmy bastard has at least done what she requested; her latest threat must’ve been successful. She makes a mental note to employ it more often.

“Put it, uh,” she looks about her desk, covered in takeout containers and plates (although she can’t see the kuusu - thank the Spirits for Kya’s quick thinking. She does  _ not _ need that headache to deal with right now).

Sighing, she gestures to the immaculately-kept desk opposite hers. “Leave it on Saikhan’s desk, I’ll get to it later.”

The lieutenant throws her a lazy salute, and Lin resists the urge to snap at him as he exits the room.

“Asshole,” Kya coughs under her breath, just loud enough for Lin to hear. The corner of her mouth ticks up.

“You don’t know the half of it,” Lin rolls her eyes, returning to her food. “How’s the South Pole?”

Kya gives a smile. There’s still a hint of the old sadness lingering, but none of the bitterness remains. Kya’s making peace with her life now, and that gives Lin a strange sense of reassurance.

“Oh, you know,” she sighs, waving her hand lazily. “Same old, same old.”

She launches into a story of the new intake at the school, where she’s slowly been taking more and more of Katara’s responsibilities. She talks about the brash and boisterous spirit of the new Avatar, how adorable and powerful she already is; she can already bend three elements. Lin raises an eyebrow at that.

“Sounds like she’s going to be a handful,” she comments. Kya snorts.

“Oh yes, definitely looks that way,” she agrees. The older woman falls into silence, looking beyond Lin to the window, where the sun is just beginning to set. It’s comfortable.

Too comfortable.

Because soon, Kya will be gone and she’ll be alone again.

Lin dismisses the thought. She can be dragged down into her pit of despair later. Might as well make the most of the company now.

She reaches into her desk drawer, and scoops up a handful of bills, sliding them across the table at Kya.

“Her name was Lian,” Lin grunts in explanation. Kya’s bemused smile turns into a triumphant smirk, and she scoops up the yuan.

“I knew it!” she crows jubilantly. Lin rolls her eyes, but doesn’t repress the small smile tugging at her lips. “I want you to tell me  _ all _ about it.”

Lin chuckles. There’s not a lot to tell; it had only been one night, though there had been several since. She tells the story anyway, of the cute woman hitting on her and buying her drinks, and introducing her to the network of bars that most Republic City denizens don’t look twice at. She’s not AC Lin Beifong when she’s with them; simply Beifong. They’re not friends; Lin has hesitated to use that word to describe anybody for a while now. But on nights where being Lin Beifong gets too much, she finds solace in the escape of the lesbian bars, and comfort in the women she brings home.

Kya’s impressed nonetheless. She’s been teasing Lin for several years about not being straight. She remembers the night they made the bet; Kya was back from a long stint travelling, and they’d snuck some wine from Toph’s stash to drink in Kya’s room as she regaled Lin with tales of her travels across the Earth Kingdom and stories of the women she’d met. Kya still claims Lin’s eyes glowed at the mention of her dalliances, and Kya had childishly bet that Lin would one day realise her attraction to women. Lin, in her 18 years of wisdom, drunk and so sure of herself, took the bet, and promptly revealed her crush on Tenzin. Kya had fallen off the bed in shock, and the pair had dissolved into giggles. But when Lin held her hand out for the money, Kya had shaken her head, a mischievous look in her eyes.

_ “You’ve not proven me wrong yet, Linny.” _

“So what about you?” Lin asks, shaking the thoughts from her head. “How’s the Southern Water Tribe dating scene?”

Kya grimaces. “Not great,” she sighs, stealing a sausage from Lin’s plate. The younger woman scowls, but there’s no malice in it.

“Actually, I just broke up with my girlfriend before we sailed up,” she continues, bending the cold coffee out of Lin’s mug and manipulating it in the air between them.  It’s a habit; something Kya’s always done the way that someone might pick at a loose thread or bounce their leg.

“I’m... sorry,” Lin frowned, aiming for sympathetic. Kya looks up at her and laughs.

“You’re as good at this as you ever were,” she teases lightly. Lin scowls and rolls her eyes.

“You wanna...” she pauses, assessing Kya’s demeanour. The older woman is very good at hiding her emotions when she wants to, but she’s always allowed herself to be more relaxed around Lin; something that in turn, always made Lin feel more relaxed around Kya. They used to be friends. Lin might even be convinced to say close ones, at that.  There’s a furrow in Kya’s brow, and a hint of confusion in her eye, like she’s not sure how things ended up this way.

“I made her a necklace.”

“Oh.”

_ Oh. _

That is... not what Lin expected. Kya shrugs, a sad half-smile on her face.

“Yeah, I know,” Kya laughs at herself with a little less humour than she probably intended. “I- I really thought I wanted it, Lin.”

Lin studies Kya’s face for a moment, trying to understand the sudden 180 in her stance on marriage. “What changed?”

Kya raises a shoulder in a half-shrug and tilts her head. “I was lonely. I spent years making friends all across the world, and my life was never quiet if I didn’t want it to be. But I moved to the South, and all of that was gone. So I went out to make friends, and I fell in love.”

She turns to face the window once more. “I don’t remember exactly when it changed, but mom loved her, and I got on well with her family, and I saw how happy our friends were to be settled together and sharing a life, and I began to wonder, y’know, what if?”  Kya’s breath catches, and a bitter smile twists onto her face.  “But, uh, before I got the chance to have that conversation with her, she told me she was leaving,” the older woman’s humour is mirthless. “My stories had inspired her to see the world, try new experiences. She left me behind.”

Lin lets out a long breath as Kya finishes speaking. She can certainly relate to that.

“Anyway,” Kya clears her throat. “I’m not here to mope, I’m here to catch up with a dear friend whom I’ve missed. Let’s talk about something else.”

Lin regards her for a moment. “You missed me.”

Kya raises an eyebrow, and gives Lin a bemused smile. “Uh, yes?”

The metalbender scoffs and looks away, beginning to tidy her desk. “I have to get back to work.”

Kya sighs, frowning, but helping Lin to clear up. “You could’ve reached out too, you know.”

“You’re  _ his _ family,” she replies quietly, shaking her head.

The older woman places her hand over Lin’s and the younger woman stills. It takes all she has not to flinch, nor to rip her hand away. She knows she should stop wanting for comfort, for someone to be on her side, but Kya’s here, she’s reaching out, and Lin can’t help but hope.

So she forces herself to remain still under the waterbender’s touch. An olive branch. Spirits, for Lin, this is a whole damned tree.

“Like I said,” Kya ducks her head to meet Lin’s eyes. She doesn’t look away. “You’re family, too. Family doesn’t pick sides.”

Lin chuckles humourlessly, but remains steady as Kya’s fingers tighten around hers and doesn’t drop the older woman’s gaze. “Could’ve fooled me.”

“We didn’t pick sides,” murmurs Kya, and it’s soft, imploring. “Not me, or mom, or Bumi. We care about you. We miss you.”

Kya releases Lin’s hand and the younger woman blinks fast, swallowing down a roiling tide of unidentifiable emotions. They clear the rest of the table in silence.  Kya has one bag in her hand, and leaves another beside Lin’s desk, with leftovers and Bumi’s kuusu gift inside.

“When’s your next day off?”

“Four days,” Lin replies after a moment. Kya nods, smiling.

“Good. You can show me to all your favourite women’s bars,” Kya winks. “I’ll meet you at your apartment.”

And with that, Kya leaves. Lin sighs, and looks up at the clock. She’s still got five hours left before she can call it a night, and she reaches out to grab a new file.

The familiar taste of Southern Water Tribe spices still lingers in her mouth, and the sweet smell of Kya’s perfume hangs in the air. Perhaps Avatar Day doesn’t have to be bitter.

**Author's Note:**

> This is the beginning of what I imagine to be a very long road to the two of them falling in love.
> 
> feel free to send me prompts/headcanons on tumblr: holoceneatla.tumblr.com


End file.
